Saturday, April 30, 2011

100 days

Today marks our 100th day living in Nicaragua. Yesterday, we talked about how the 100th day of school is celebrated and brainstormed ways we could celebrate our 100th day here.Well, the day began with no electricity or water.After several hours, Kora said “this feels more like a punishment than a celebration”.We encouraged her to think of ways to make it a celebration and she said “it’s like a nursing home celebration because we have nowhere to go and nothing to do”.Thankfully minutes after she said that, the electricity came on, however we are still waiting on water.Glad we got showers last night.So, here are hundred things we have learned in our 100 days in Nicaragua:

100) All water is not treated equally

99) Culture shock is real

98) You CAN ride five people on a motorcycle

97) Fresh meat day is Wednesday

96) You don’t want to miss fresh meat day

95) Our favorite treat -Bosita’s are only 1 cordoba (5 cents)

94) Riding in the bed of the truck can be comfortable

93) We love air conditioning

92) We wish gas prices were only $4.00

91) Our neighbor sells bositas

90) We like our Neighbor

89) Roosters cannot tell time

88) Gas ovens are a fire hazard

87) Keep a fire extinguisher close to your oven

86) You can use your motorcycle to transport propane tanks

85) God has a plan for Nicaragua

84) A good wage in Leon is $1.50 per hour

83) Nicaragua has earthquakes… 2 so far

82) It is hot here

81) You can sled down a volcano

80) Power outages are a common occurrence

79) Having your water shutoff is never at a convenient time

78) Jesus loves you

77) Todo es posible con Dios

76) Prescriptions are not required

75) The police do not have to have a reason to pull you over

74) it is very hot here

73) We have not seen any precipitation in our first 100 days

72) A haircut is $1.50

71) For $2.50 you can have your truck cleaned inside and out

70) There is no minute rice here. Only hour rice

69) A movie ticket here is only $2.00

68) You can get a schwarme in Nicaragua

67) Milk comes in a bag

66) We receive many hugs every day from the students at NCS

65) We like living 30 minutes from the beach

64) There are many beautiful cathedrals in Leon

63)There are 208 students at NCS

62)It takes a REALLY long time to get internet

61)We are thankful to have internet at our house

60) Skype is our friend

59)God has a plan for you

58) They sell octopus at the grocery store

57) Nicaragua is beautiful

56)There are lots of interesting insects in Nicaragua

55) There is Price Mart (Costco) in Managua

54)There is a McDonalds in Managua

53)We like to go to Managua

52) We love to have American visitors

51) We will be traveling to Tennessee in 66 days

50) There is a Goodwill store in Nicaragua

49) There are several geckos living with us

48) There are a lot of one way streets in Leon, and they are not all marked

47) It’s much cooler in Matagalpa, Nicaragua

46) It’s very hot here

45) We have a vision to build Mission Team housing on the property of NCS

44) Hammocks are extremely comfortable

43) There are orthodontists in Nicaragua

42) We have been to the orthodontist here

41) Our dogs ate Kora’s retainers

40) Magic Jack is cool

39) We covet your prayers

38) Many children in Nicaragua have to work to help support their family

37) Driving in Nicaragua is dangerous

36) Grass is cut by machetes

35) Winter temperatures in Nicaragua are in the 90’s

34) It’s extrememly hot here

33) You have to stand in line for at least 30 minutes to use an ATM machine

32) Nicaragua is a special place

31) It’s an experience to worship in a different language

30)We know more Spanish than we did 100 days ago

29) Our dogs think it’s really hot here

28) We are very blessed

27) Pizza is served with ketchup

26) It’s normal to see cattle walking on the road

25) A horse is used as a lawn mower at a nearby baseball field

24) Some of the children that attend NCS live in houses made of cardboard and trash bags

23) Some of our students at NCS will only eat once a day (the meal at school)

22)God is so good

21) Love is understood in any language

20) There are a lot of stray dogs in Nicaragua

19) Living in Nicaragua is an adventure

18) A police officer won’t give you a ticket if you can’t understand what he is saying

17)Did I mention….it’s really hot here

16) A doctor’s visit and medicine cost about $10

15)Time is overrated

14) Pinatas come in “people size”

13) We have a vision to build earthbag houses in our neighborhood

12) They do not observe daylights savings time

11) Because Nicaragua is so close to the equator, sunrise and sunset are the same time every day

10) Prayer is powerful

9) We can fit 15 people in our truck

8) More people travel by bicycles than by cars

7)We want hundreds of people to come and see the work God is doing in Nicaragua

Mark 16:15

We moved to Leon, Nicaragua in January 2011 to work with the Nicaragua Christian School and six preachers that are sponsored by Campbell Street Church of Christ. We are so thankful that God presented us with this opportunity and are humbled by the encouragement and support we have received.